November 25, 2022 UPDATE

SUMMIT - Romania's support for Ukraine will continue, president Klaus Iohannis said on the sidelines of a press briefing held jointly with counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. On Friday, Klaus Iohannis attended a summit devoted to strengthening NATO's Eastern Flank. "We have to maintain Western unity and strategic commitment towards Russia's renewed efforts to divide us, including by escalation attempts, food shortage, energy blackmail and disinformation", the Romanian president said. Klaus Iohannis pointed out that Romania is ready to contribute to the international effort to reconstruct Ukraine at the end of Russia's brutal, illegal and unjustified war. The four presidents also adopted a joint declaration on regional security and European integration.

SALARIES - The Government has announced it reached an accord with social partners as regards increasing the gross minimum wage from approximately EUR 510 at present to nearly EUR 600 as of January 1. A total of 2.2 million employees will benefit from this law. Also, the minimum wage in constructions will be around EUR 800. People working in this sector, considered of national importance, are exempted from paying the 10% tax and pay a smaller contribution to the insurance fund. Around 23% of employees in Romania, that is over 2 million people, receive the minimum wage at present.

ARREST - In Romania, the Department for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) announced that it arrested one person in an advanced phase of self-radicalization, who has systematically accessed and promoted, via the internet, propaganda materials specific to a terrorist organization active in the Middle East. That person is accused, among others, of instigating to and planning a terror attack. Judicial sources announced that the person is a woman, Liliana Florentina Gâdea, who had already received a suspended sentence in Romania for similar deeds.

MOLDOVA - The Russian ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Oleg Vasnetsov, was summoned at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Chișinău, in protest to Russia bombing Ukrainian civil infrastructure, which left most of the neighboring Moldova without electricity for a few hours. According to Radio Chișinău, upon leaving the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Vasnetsov told journalists that bilateral ties have been discussed as well as the events in Ukraine. Previously, Moldovan Minister Foreign Nicu Popescu wrote on Twitter that Russia's brutal bombing of Ukraine continues to have dramatic consequences for Moldova, such as massive power outages across the country, including the capital Chișinău.

NATO - A meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be held in Bucharest on November 29-30, 2022. The country will thus become the European and Euro-Atlantic diplomatic capital, said the Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu. In a video message, released before the event, he said that the NATO countries' foreign ministers meeting will once again demonstrate allied unity and solidarity and seek solutions to counter the effects of Russia's brutal war against Ukraine. The conference will be hosted by Bogdan Aurescu together with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. Also in Bucharest, next week, the G7 foreign ministers will discuss how they can help Ukraine secure its energy resources for the winter, the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock announced.

RED CROSS - The Romanian Red Cross, with support from the French Red Cross, on Friday opened in Bucharest the Center for Healthcare Promotion, where Ukrainian refugees will benefit from free-of-charge medical advice and services. The Center will provide basic medical testing and consultations. Patients can get appointments by calling the Center's call center in Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian or English. After four months, the center will be converted into a mobile health caravan that will travel to several counties across Romania.

HANDBALL - The Romanian men's handball team, Dinamo Bucharest defeated on home turf the Polish side Orlen Wisla Plock, 32-27, in a Group A match of the Champions League. This is the third victory in Group A for the Romanians, whose coach is the Spanish Xavi Pascual. Dinamo will play the away leg on December 1st. (EE & VP)